Man held at Guantánamo for 13 years a case of mistaken identity, say officials

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Man held at Guantánamo for 13 years a case of mistaken identity, say officials

David Smith
Wednesday 2 December 2015 00.27 GMT

A man who has spent 13 years in the US prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, was arrested partly in a case of mistaken identity, US officials conceded Tuesday.

Officials admitted that Mustafa al-Aziz al-Shamiri, 37, was a low-level Islamist foot soldier and not an al-Qaida courier and trainer as previously thought, during a Guantanamo hearing.

Wearing a beard and voluminous white t-shirt, and accompanied by a linguist and two personal representatives, the Yemeni appeared before a panel assessing whether he can be released.

A profile published by the Department of Defense maintains he fought in Afghanistan and mixed with members of al-Qaida. But officials concede that they wrongly believed he had a more significant role because he was confused with others who had a similar name.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/01/mistaken-identity-guantanamo-bay-mustafa-al-aziz-al-shamiri

[merrily]

1. .

[OnyxCollie]

2. Yeah, but we'll hold on to him anyway,

'cause you can never tell with these guys. Amirite?

Maybe Obama will move him from Cuba to Colorado, where he can spend the rest of his life being held indefinitely.